The annual Lockport Food Fest has been called off this year due to a variety of challenges.
Grace Platt, program manager for Lockport Main Street, the city’s tourism and event marketing branch, said Friday that the cost of the event, along with reluctance from restaurants, and consumers being cautious about spending, contributed to the decision.
“That event is literally the most expensive and it’s very labor-intensive,” she said. “Every year, we break even on that event. It’s more about highlighting our restaurants and giving them a platform. Looking at our year and having to shift to focus on fundraising, it was just not possible.”
The annual Lockport Food Fest is the successor to the Taste of Lockport, which ended in 2019.
Platt said the restaurant owners expressed concerns about added labor and food costs because they operate both a festival booth and their brick-and-mortar locations that day.
“It’s been a huge undertaking for restaurants that participate,” Platt said. Food establishments expressed concerns about the risk of participating when there could be low attendance due to weather or the economy, she said.
Lockport Main Street also considered the staff time involved in managing the event.
“We’re making sure we’re allocating our staff time to building a stronger, more sustainable organization,” Platt said. “We’re building a foundation where we try not to have to rely on fundraising year after year to make ends meet. We want to find something that is stable. We really have to balance and do the best we can with what we’ve got.
“I do want to bring it back, over and over again.”